100th post

I've decided to let Samuel L. Jackson say a few words to commemorate the 100th posting here at ...in Korea.

To English teachers at home and abroad...enjoy.

American Weekend

I’m still trying to process it all.  On this adventure Jessica and I have had numerous cultural experiences.  We ate raw ocean “things” with a Korean family.  We walked on the street where a nameless man with shopping bags won a staring contest with a Chinese army tank in 1989.  

Ancient palaces.  Great walls.  Throne rooms. 

And strangely enough, none of the above is what I’m having trouble wrapping my brain around. 

This past weekend we visited our friends Michael and Victoria Mosley in Dongducheon, South Korea.  1 hour train ride north of Seoul.  On Saturday afternoon, we went to the US Army base in town.  Jessica and I were excited about seeing more than a handful of Americans.  There’s a grocery store on base.  American grocery store.  All week we dreamed of Mountain Dew.  Wheat Thins.  Fritos Jalapeno Cheddar chip dip.  I’m even slightly embarrassed to say we ate at the Taco Bell.  We weren’t even hungry. 

But I found myself feeling something quite different than I expected.  As we left the train station to walk down the street to the base, the area reminded me of a ghetto inner-city neighborhood mixed with Myrtle Beach.  The only Koreans I saw were taxi drivers and a few pawn shopkeepers.  The Americans we passed on the sidewalk looked a bit thuggish.  Honestly, I didn’t feel entirely safe.  This wasn’t the Korea I’ve grown accustomed to.

Before leaving for Korea last fall, Kim Carroll recounted her first experience of Seoul.  She asked her Korean friends if there were any areas to avoid should they get separated or if she traveled there alone. 

“No?” was the answer, with a confused look.  Seoul...Korea in general...is a safe place.

“Well, I wouldn’t go to Itaewon at night.  It’s the American part of town.  Anywhere else is OK.”

Like I said, I’m just having trouble wrapping my brain around it all.  Or maybe I’m having trouble accepting the reality of what I already knew to be true.

Thoughts?

Picture(s) of the Week

Takin' it one day at a time

I am, and always will be, the biggest advocate of traveling to a foreign country to live.  A different perspective is an extremely powerful thing.  Leaving home.  Family.  Routine.  Comfort.  It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done. 

Having said that, I would like to share my daily school schedule with anyone who may be considering coming to teach English at Buseok Elementary School in Korea…

1^st period       

Scheduled: 6^th grade                     

Reality: students stay in their homeroom to watch Bill Nye: the Science Guy Greatest Hits vol. 3.

2^nd period

Scheduled: 1^st grade

Reality: 1^st grade homeroom teacher still doesn’t know to send her students to my classroom. 

3^rd period

Scheduled: 3^rd grade B

Reality: 10 minutes after class is scheduled to begin, I get to go on a super fun Find the 3^rd Graders Scavenger Hunt.

4^th period

Scheduled: No class – Planning period

Reality: 1^st grade teacher realizes that she is supposed to send her students to me…an hour and a half later.

LUNCH

5^th period

Scheduled: 3^rd grade A

Reality: Find the 3^rd Graders Scavenger Hunt part II.

6^th period

Scheduled: Okdae Elementary School 4^th grade

Reality: No one got the message to Okdae.

7^th period

Scheduled: No class – Planning period

Reality: 1^st grade, 2^nd grade, 3^rd grade, 4^th grade, 5^th grade, AND 6^th grade

8^th period

Scheduled: 6^th grade

Reality: Students are dismissed early.  Chicken wings, rice cakes, and beer in the office.

I wouldn't trade this year for anything.

6 Months in the making...

Truth be told, I was tricked.  My co-teacher came to me about a month ago and said there will be a race in April at Sobaek Mountain National Park.  Marathon, Half Marathon, 10k, and 5k.

"Which one would you like?"

"Ummm.....is this part of my contract?"

I was informed that all the teachers would be participating.  During the ride home from school I asked Kim Do-Hyeong (6th grade teacher) if all the teachers were going to be there.

"No.  Only you."

There have been many valuable lessons learned and experiences awkwardly endured since arriving in Korea. Jessica and I have learned to expect them.  Any time we are invited to a social gathering we speculate what may happen (or rather,  what will be lost in translation) that we'll be able to laugh about afterwards.  Rarely are we disappointed.  The best piece of advice I was given before we began this adventure came from Kim Carroll at English For Life.... 

"...all that will be specified in my contract right?"

"Don't expect anything in your contract to actually happen like you think it should.  Better yet, don't expect anything to happen as it should."

So I made a decision.  Don't fight it.  Just go with it.  I began training for the upcoming race.  During my first run a couple of weeks ago, I began thinking about the last time I ran.  2008.  It's now 2011.  3 years.  

THREE.  YEARS.

I'm proud to report that lastnight, on my 4th run since 2008, I ran the entire distance of a 5k race.  Without stopping.  And even with a respectable time.  Walking literally everywhere for the past 6 months has begun to pay off.  I'm gonna be a Champ.

Inspiration (or.....Run Like Hell)

Music is a funny thing.  It has the ability to manipulate my emotions.  

For better or for worse.  

I've become aware of this, and I try to stay in tune with what I'm feeling and why I'm feeling it, and whether I'm really feeling it at all.  Maybe it's just the music imposing its agenda on me.  

I've been on quite a few airplanes in the past few years.  My favorite part of the experience is taking off.  I ignore the warnings to turn off all electronic devices, and listen to Led Zeppelin as the plane picks up speed and begins to lift.  The adrenaline is compounded with Rock and Roll blaring in my ears.

Below is an unofficial Death Cab for Cutie video of Transatlanticism that I blame (in a good way) for conspiring to persuade me to run for faraway places.

Food for thought...

When I was in high school, there were 3 options for lunch in the cafeteria.  1) a basket of french fries; 2) nachos and cheese; 3) wait in line for the "regular" lunch, usually consisting of a hamburger in a plastic wrapping, some kind of pizza on garlic bread, or a corn dog.  At Buseok Elementary School, a public state-sponsored school, the menu will always include steamed rice, some type of soup (usually either tofu, cabbage, or seaweed), and kimchi.    

One this particular day, we had a special treat...lettuce wraps.

Other items that show up on my lunch tray...

                                         Lotus root.......a banana.......Chinese noodles

                                                                                                      ....and water (always).



Ps.   Korean kids aren't fat either.  Interesting...

Thing I DO miss about America #38

In case you were beginning to think this is strictly an "American culture-bashing" blog....

When Jessica and I were living in Greenville, one of our favorite things was driving. Somewhere.  Anywhere.  We would just go explore.  Try to get lost.  We would take off to Asheville with a mattress in the back of my truck.  The Blue Ridge Parkway is the most eerily quiet place in the world at 2am.  At the Craggy Gardens parking lot, there are no artificial lights to hide the millions of stars that otherwise go unnoticed.  In those two weeks between the wedding and leaving for Korea, we spotted 8 shooting stars in one night on the Parkway.  

One night, we decided to drive to the beach.  We sat on the sand and watched the stars for about an hour.  The sky slowly grew pink and purple.  The sun peaked over the horizon.  And then we drove 4 hours back home. 

It's just what we do.  

Korea is different.  We walk everywhere we can.  If we go further than Homeplus, we're at the mercy of train schedules and bus routes.  It's really put a cramp in our style.  But now we've got a bicycle, and we've gained a feeling of independence.  Being able to get oneself from point A to point B without depending on someone or something else is a feeling I never take for granted.  I feel like more of an adult.  

Now if I could only find some baseball cards to put in the spokes.

Buseok Biz-nitches

I think I'm finally starting to blend in.

pronounced "boo-sock"

Lip My Stockings

 Sophia Coppola's Lost in Translation is one of the reasons we came to Asia.   This is one of my favorite scenes...